A federal appeals court rejected a "Star Trek" actress' lawsuit against dating service Matchmaker.com, ruling that a fake Internet profile posted with the star's comely image was not the company's fault.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the personal profile information published on Matchmaker's service is solely up to the user's discretion and the company is immune from the lawsuit.

Christianne Carafano, who uses the stage name Chase Masterson, has appeared in numerous films and television programs, most notably starring as the alien character Leeta on the TV series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Carafano sued Matchmaker after learning that an online profile using her photos had been created in 1999. The profile included her home address, phone number and text stating she sought a dominant man with "a strong sexual appetite."

Carafano received calls and e-mails from would-be suitors, who believed the actress was looking for a date online. She said she felt unsafe in her home and moved to hotels in Los Angeles for months with her son.

Matchmaker took the phony profile down, but only days after the initial request from Carafano's representatives.

"I am shocked, and I'm devastated," Carafano told The Associated Press. "It's obvious that Matchmaker participated in the creation of the profile which listed my home address in combination with blatant sexually explicit lies."

"As a result, I received a note from someone threatening to brutally stalk and rape me and kill my son," she said. "Matchmaker was not a passive vehicle."

Matchmaker is operated by Terra Lycos. Calls seeking comment from the company were not immediately returned.

Hmmm ... I think Matchmaker should be liable in some way or another. They should at least capture the IP number of people placing personals in case of something like this so authorities might be able to track down the culprit.

If the person used her real home address and telephone number, it makes me wonder if it was someone who knows her irl that got majorly peeved at her for some reason. That's a pretty vengeful thing to do.

And, that's a big downfall to people's pictures being posted online. Unfortunately, celebrities are pretty open to that sort of scam.

<BR><center>"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look <br> what they can do when they stick together.." ... Vesta M. Kelly</center>